Air Traffic Control Voice Data Analysis To Validate Nextgen Procedures

The NextGen ATC modernization effort is introducing new technologies and procedures affecting communication between pilots and controllers. This is creating opportunities for fundamentally new ways of providing air traffic control (ATC) services. In order to take the fullest advantage of these changes it is important to understand the communication needs of pilots and controllers in both current and future environments. This paper reviews previous taxonomies of the content of air-ground communications between pilots and controllers and the most recent findings on the type, frequency, and function of existing communication technologies. Methods of analysis and metrics of relevant variables derived from ATC voice data are presented in order to illustrate the rich and complex communication strategies controllers currently employ. Examples of these analyses and metrics using voice data from multiple sectors at the New York, Indianapolis, and Boston air route traffic control centers are discussed. An initial analysis of the application of these taxonomies and metrics to communications in advanced NextGen environments is presented in order to illustrate the challenges with identifying how to most effectively take advantage of new communication technologies associated with NextGen.